GENDER. 25
uma, "any equine animal;" omma, " a stallion ; " memma, " a mare."
tori, " a bird," " a fowl ; "
ondori, " a cock ; " mendori, " a hen."
The independent words otoko, " man," and osu, "male;" onna, "woman," and mesu, "female," sub- serve the same purpose, thus : ko, " a child ; " otoko no ko, " a boy ; " onna no ko, " a girl."
child irotnnu '. child
"adog;"
inn, " any canine animal ; " lnu " osu
mesunomu ),, abitch- ,. inu no mesu]
Such a phrase as
Osu desu ka, mesu desu ka ? T -, , female ?
/* ?, remote f* ? ) ll
may mean " Is it a drake or a duck ?," " Is it a gander or a goose?," " Is it a he or a she-ass ?," etc., etc., ac- cording to circumstances. The words osu and mesu are never applied to human beings, whereas the words otoko and onna are applied both to human beings and to other living creatures.
IT 38. In a very few cases, chiefly the names of the degrees of relationship, the sexes are distinguished by the use of different words, thus :
chichi, "father;" haha, "mother."
ototsan, " papa ; " okkdsan, " mamma."
ojiisan, "grandfather," obdsan, "grandmother,"
" an old gentleman ; " " an old lady."
